Friday, April 21, 2017

6 Cryptocurrencies You Should Know About (and None of Them Are Bitcoin)

Source:The EntrepreneurIn the 21st century, money is no longer limited to bills, coins and credit cards. In fact, some money is truly international
-- not owned by any particular government -- and regulated “by the
people” instead of a central entity. It also exists wholly on the
internet. This type of money is called cryptocurrency.You may have heard of or even used Bitcoin when it first became popular several years ago, but where Bitcoin used to rule,
other cryptocurrencies are now being used to pay back family members
for lunch, charge customers for products and services and make other
everyday transactions. As an entrepreneur, it’s important to keep an eye
on the most commonly-used cryptocurrencies. Here are six I think you
should know about.

Ethereum

Rather than competing with Bitcoin like many other cryptocurrencies, Ethereum
complements it; while the Bitcoin blockchain network tracks ownership
of its own currency, the Ethereum blockchain runs programming codes for
its users’ applications. People use Ethereum to create custom (but
trustworthy) crowdfunding platforms, autonomous online organizations and
even their own cryptocurrencies. Because these applications are decentralized, they can only be built in the Ethereum network.Though
Ether, the network's money, wasn’t made to be used for everyday
payments, anything of value can be traded for products and services; as a
result, many developers use it to pay for each other’s help in building
applications.However, most online stores that accept cryptocurrency do not take Ether.

Litecoin

If Bitcoin were gold, Litecoin
would be silver. Litecoin works just like its more popular counterpart,
but it’s worth a little less -- there are 21 million total Bitcoin in
existence and 84 million Litecoin. Litecoin are easier to mine and
quicker to move from person to person due to its faster block
generation. It is perhaps the least intimidating cryptocurrency for
those who are new to exchanging money online: Litecoin’s wallet can be
downloaded from the official Litecoin website, and it’s fully encrypted
to prevent accidental spending and computer viruses. This is a super
simple network for those who need to move smaller amounts of money fast.

Ripple

While other cryptocurrencies avoid banks, Ripple embraces them. In fact, Ripple was made for
banks, as it allows them to make faster, low-cost, on-demand global
payments of any size. Traditional cross-border transactions require
banks to go through an intermediary (or often several), which delays
completion. Ripple offers a faster and more direct alternative. When a
bank customer in the US wants to send a payment to a different bank
customer in China, for example, Ripple immediately queries both banks
for their transaction fees and makes the transfer in a matter of
minutes. It even updates both customers’ ledgers right away so they can
view their balances following the transaction. This unique
cryptocurrency enables banks to offer new and improved payment products,
and it simplifies regular transactions for consumers around the world.

Dash

Though Dash can be used for transactions between consumers, it was made for shopping. Think of Dash as a replacement for PayPal.
Many merchants accept Dash just as they do USD, but the transaction is
faster -- you don’t have to wait a day or two to see the payment charge
to your account. Like any other cryptocurrency, you can buy Dash using
government-regulated currency and keep it in a designated Dash wallet
until you’re ready to spend it at a compatible merchant. You may even
consider adding your own business to the merchant map!

Zcash

If you want to maximize your confidentiality, this cryptocurrency is for you. Zcash
has been dubbed the first “zero-knowledge” cryptocurrency with its
ability to “shield” the identities of all senders, recipients and
values. Each transaction is fully encrypted, so users can enjoy the
advantages of a public blockchain without offering up private
information. Many view Zcash as a more confidential version of Bitcoin.

Monero

Monero
is another excellent cryptocurrency option for those concerned about
their privacy. This currency was designed to give individual users full
control over their money; with Monero, you are your own bank.
Transactions are “selectively transparent,” meaning you decide who can
and can’t see where your money is going. Crises faced by banks and
governments won’t affect your assets or compromise confidential
information. Finally, like many cryptocurrencies, Monero is
decentralized and community-built -- over thirty developers have
directly contributed to Monero so far.

Why are these so important?

If
your business doesn’t use any of these cryptocurrencies already, you
may want to start incorporating them soon. When it comes to online
financial transactions, cryptocurrencies like the ones above have
quickly started to give PayPal, Stripe and other payment systems a run
for their money.

Cryptocurrency transactions aren’t validated by a
central entity, meaning there are no bank or platform fees associated
with payments -- just optional, minute fees (one percent or less) that
speed up the transaction. You also don’t have to wait nearly as long to
receive cryptocurrency as you may with traditional money.Again, a
cryptocurrency's most important feature might be that it's truly
international; no particular government owns or regulates it. This means
there are no fees for payments that cross borders, and the transaction
works the same no matter where you or the other party are located.

The
only major disadvantage to cryptocurrency is the need to sell it for
USD (or any other government currency). However, this process closely
imitates the way you’d transfer PayPal funds to your checking account.